The CARputer...yea thats right CAR.......

S

SuddenDemise

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
361
Being an avid music fan and an equally avid sound system fan, I'm tired of seeing the same ol' sound systems in cars. So I decided to try something diffrent......I'm going to make a mATX computer and stick in my car....Here are the specs;

CPU: AMD XP 2800+ Barton Core
Motherboard: MSI K7N2GM-V NVIDIA nForce2 with OnBoard GeForce4
Sound Card: CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 40GB
RAM: TwinMOS 512MB DDR400

This system is just going to be made to play MP3s and DVDs(and various other Video files) so thats why the specs aren't all that high quality...I'm not tryin to play doom3 or farcry in my car. So heres the plan; Securely mount the system under the drivers seat. Mount the DVD drive in the center console (going to be using a pionner slot load DVD drive). Hook the sound card to a normal car-stereo amp (you know what hooks up into the amp). Mount a 6" Touch Screen LCD screen where the stereo would normally go. The inside of the computer case is going to be lined with protective foam, to keep things from getting jarred around, the DVD drive will also be lined with this. I have tested this by going over several speed bumps and making sharp turns and sudden stops with my friends current mATX PC hooked up, except I dont have the LCD screen yet, but everything worked fine. The HDD and DVD drive didn't skip a beat and nothing was knocked lose or broken inside the case......Well what do you guys think? I think it will be bad ass......Opinions?????
 
bhouse said:
I personally would bump up the HD size..but thats just me
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If he keeps his video and audio files on CD/DVDs that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I would suggest a remote, sometimes it's easier than a touch screen LCD. What OS are you going to run? Windows Media Edition?
 
bhouse said:
I personally would bump up the HD size..but thats just me
Click to expand...

yea, I'll probably add a bigger HDD later, I'm tryin to build it kinda cheap at first, and all that will be on this HDD drive is Windows, Winamp, PowerDVD 6, Music, and Video....So 40GB would work fine at first.
 
Jeriko_Cherry said:
If he keeps his video and audio files on CD/DVDs that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I would suggest a remote, sometimes it's easier than a touch screen LCD. What OS are you going to run? Windows Media Edition?
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I going to have most the music on the HDD. The DVD drive is for just in case i wanna listen to a CD and so I can watch whatever DVD I dont have on my HDD. And yes I probably will be using Windows Media Edition......I think I just end up using a small laptop mouse and keyboard instead of touch screen, I'll have to figure out how to mount them. This has to be safe, I need to be able to change the song while I'm driving....What do you guys think of the whole idea though?
 
Keyboard and mouse? Doesn't sound very easy to control while driving. I use ATi's remote wonder and it acts like a mouse as well as you being able to assign programs and links to certain buttons and it also let's you control playback and volume (even comes with a Winamp plugin and supports WinMCE). I'm sure there are other remotes out there that do similar things. Having to move a mouse on your dashboard doesn't sound that great to me, maybe a small keyboard under the seat for those "just in case" moments. For a CARputer, you want easy of use to be a priority, anything else is just dangerous.
 
ITs a great idea...i have something similar in my ranger...you'll love it when you are on road trips :)
 
<thread>www.mp3car.com</thread>

Seriously, it's a great resource, no matter what the idea, someone's generally already tried it. A remote is definately easier/safer than a mouse/keyboard, a keypad would work well too. Touchpads and small trackballs (there are a few handheld presentation models out there) also work well. For those times when you really need a keyboard, a wireless keyboard is the easiest, altho some people have used the wired rubber keyboards, and a few people are using small, usb thumbpad keyboards designed for ps2's.
 
I like the sound of the remote, after i posted the thing about using a keyboard and mouse, i quickly realized that was a wreck waiting to happen. How much did that ATI remote cost you.
And will it let me cycle thorugh my MP3 and Video list to select what I wanna listen to? And will allow me to select mutiple MP3s at once so I dont have to enque one at a time?
 
to be quite hones, that system is WAY overkill for a carputer. If all you're doing is making an MP3 jukebox with some GPS action, then a P3 is more than enough for what you'd need.

btw, don't fall to the hype of those PW200-M/V 200w DC-DC psu's. They're total shit. Save yourself some time and headache and get an Opus 150 and be done with it. It should still power that AMD 2800+ and you won't have to worry about it feeding the car's unregulated 12v line to your PC components like the PW200's do.

I'm helping a friend finish up a carputer we just put in his new mustang gt. it's a 3.06ghz P4 w/1gb ram and a 60gb hdd. XM, FM, GPS, Bluetooth phone, MP3, DVD, etc. fun project and it's awsome when it's done.

:edit: forgot the touchscreen LCD. It's a definate must for a carputer. If you can't afford it, I would go with a touchpad or remote with assignable buttons.
 
Alarm, already got that taken care of, I got lasers, rockets, tasers all of it...lol...Anyways, Power Supplies, thats the other thing I'm stuck on, what PSU should i get and where can I get it????
 
I have a CarPC in my 2001 jetta, heres the specs:

EPIA800
10.2GB HD
Cubid 9699R Case
2x128 PC100
8" 800x600 LCD

its fun, and its awesome to own. My friends love watching movies in it, and my MP3 collection is awesome. I use a USB Wifi-G adapter to network my CarPC to my Main PC and transfer files to my Car while its in my garage, its fun to mess with. Heres my worklog (not done):

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=49709

To make it looks nice its gonna involve allot of wire-hiding (much like tidying youre case up) and lots of time....about 12 hours to install minimum if you wanna make it look profesh. In the end its worth it...
 
I wouldn't put the 'puter under the seat packed in foam, it will burn alive.

I do like the idea though, and hope you post some kickass pics when you're done.
 
Where would you suggest putting it? I want it somewhere close to the front so I can mount the DVD drive in my Center Console....
 
I don't know, I'm not an expert on carputers, I just know that hot car + computer + foam = hot CPU. :D
 
putting the pc under the seat isnt to bad. I wouldnt wrap it in foam though. I am also working on a similiar project. If you want the dvd drive mounted outside of the pc you might look at ways of using firewire or usb connections instead.

-bn
 
a very popular place for a carputer is in the trunk. Without all the windows, it doesn't get quite as hot as the cabin in the summertime sun, plus it's hidden from sight and can be made shock proof easily there (think...Gel-eez wrist rests for vibration damping). If you really want, you can also run a small piece of flexible conduit (with shutoff valve for wintertime) from the AC duct to the fan intake on the pc.

I still say the best bet for your PSU is an Opus 150. Find a wattage calculator and input your system specs and see what it comes up with. But we're using the Opus150 to power the system I mentioned in my above post without any issues at all.
 
what will the temps be like? you should get some nice cooling cause the system can get warmed up a lot under that car seat.. especially on a hot day.

edit: opps, some people beat me to it.
 
Trunks are killer for CarPC's. Unless AC gets to it from the cabin, the HD will die in weeks. Most SFF cases have one or two 40mm fans, i turned mine around, blowing cold air into the case, nothing ever overheats. I have min under the seat, secured with double sided tape to my carpet :D It never moves, and cold air from the AC hits it, so its just fine.

I wouldnt recommend using a system that takes more than 150w and i reommend you never EVER use cig. lighter adapters unless you absolutely need too, hardwiring is the way to go.
 
may i suggest a via C3?
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or severe underclocking/undervolting of that AXP you picked out

that would lower the temps alot..and make it so you can keep it quiet

USB/firewire would be the way to go to mount your DVD drive in the dash and have the mobo/cpu located someplace cool, think 10+ foot extension cables :) and USB>IDE adapters

heres a good 16 foot USB repeater cable (strengthens signals when extending the wire)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812116123

and heres a USB > IDE adapter to make your life easier with the dvd drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812156001
 
4b5eN+EE said:
may i suggest a via C3?
biggrin.gif
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Any of the VIA chipsets are AWESOME. As i said before, i use one and it runs everything just fine (cept games, duh). The VIA M1000, 800, M900, etc all those systems will do jsut fine. The best part is, they use less than 80w of power at full load, including peripherals (IE- one HD, CDRW, and PCi card) And with 80w of power, you can do almost anything with it. Most MiniITX cases comes with built in <80w PSU's in them to run everything, so itll be fine. I use a 100w inverter and my EPIA800 runs fine at full load, so it obviously never exceeds 100w, or even close to it.

The AMD GEODE is interesting too, we'll see how that fairs out, allot of CARPC people are looking towards it. You can underlcock a mobile 25w AXP to 900-1000mhz and have a full system udner 150w, its cool to do.
 
Why don't you mount the computer in the dash? Should fit in there, depends on the car though of course.. Some cars come with HUGE stereo receivers (see- honda). It would work well in teh dash, intake from the car, exhaust into the engine. BTW, why not just a laptop?
 
Back to the HDD, I'd suggest going to an 80gb. It might cost you 10-20$ more and you get twice the size. That'll allow you to have twice the pr0n, since nothing else will be on it :D
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, this is really helping me alot....I guess I have to go back to the drawing board. When I started this idea, i forgot about all the important stuff like cooling...etc....Thanks again for all the help...And where can I find that opus150 PSU???
 
www.mp3car.com

they have forums and a store there. definately search the forums there before you post. They don't seem to be the nicest bunch over there.
 
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